Proportional powder-divider.



W. VOTTELER.

PBOPORTIONAL POWDER DIVIDER.

Patented Nov. '17, 1908.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM VOTTELER, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

PROPORTIONAL POWDER-DIVIDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Vo'r'rnLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Proportional Powder-Divider, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to appliances for apothecaries, and the objects of my improve mentare, to divide quantities of powders rapidly, easily, and accurately into proportional parts, to provide an appliance for this purpose which is simple in construction and operation, comparatively inexpensive, and that may be easily adjusted. These objects I attain by means of the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a. perspective view of the proportional dividing instrument; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the palette with the mold strips applied; Fig. 3, a perspective view of one of the mold strips; Fig. 1, an edge view showing the dividing instrument closed; Fig. 5, a perspective view of one of the elements of the dividing instrument; and, Fig. 6, a perspective view of two of the elements of the dividing instrument showing the method of uniting them.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

The essential parts of my appliance are a proportional dividing instrument 1, and mold strips 3 and 1, which are placed upon a palette 2. The proportional dividing instrument 1 is made up of a number of elements 5, preferably made of sheet metal, having the required stifi'ness, and being suiticiently springy for the purpose. The elements 5 are flat strips, provided with a notch 6 extending to the center line, and having one of their ends rolled to form a cylindrical portion or eye 7 for the purpose of hinging to the corresponding part of an adjacent element. The end opposite eye 7 is provided with a folded portion 8 and a rounded part 9, forming a socket 10 adapted to receive the cylindrical part 7 of an adjacent element. The parts 7 and 9 thus form separable hinge members on the ends of elements 5. The rounded part 9 and folded part 8 are firmly folded over the body of the strip, so that the part 9 presses yieldingly against the body of thestrip. Some force is required to insert the portion 7 into the socket 10, and therefore when the elements are united they do Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 18, 1908.

Patented. Nov. 17, 1908.

Serial No. 421,762.

not readily separate, and suflicient friction obtains between the walls of socket 10 and the surface of part 7 to hold the parts in any position they may be placed, with some resistance.

In Fig. 6 it will be seen how the elements 5 are arranged, so that their planes intersect and form a hinge or are pivoted at their intersection. In Fig. 1 the elements are shown assembled, and it will be observed, that the ii'istrument thus assembled is in the form of the familiar lazy-tongs, having ends 11 and 12extended beyond the hinges formed by uniting parts 7 and 10. It will be understood that when the elements thus assembled are expanded from the closed condition shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. l, the parts 11 and 12 separate, leaving proportional spaces between them.

Straight flat strips 3 and at, like rulers, are provided, adapted to be laid upon a palette 2. The strips 3 and 4t have right-angular extensions 13 and 14 at one of their ends. These extensions are raised somewhat above the surface of the strips, and are provided with notches 15 and 16. The notch in each extension 13 and 14 being adapted to receive the strip or blade of the other, so that the two blades 3 and 4 are adapted to interlock and be moved lengthwise in parallel relation with each other, leaving a space between them. The strips 3 and 1 thus form the longitudinal walls of a mold, and their extensions 13 and 14 form the transverse end walls of the mold. Thus the mold formed by the strips is adjustable as to length. Strips 3 and 1 may be formed of different thicknesses and thus walls of different height may be provided, and the space between the strips may also be varied.

WVhenit is desired to divide a quantity of powder into a certain number of powders, the strips 3 and 41 are laid upon palette 2, the batch of powder is placed in the channel formed between. the strips and leveled off with a palette knife. If the quantity of powder used does not quite till the channel, the strips may be moved so as to shorten the channel until the powder just fills it. If

there is an overplus, the strips may be moved sired to make four powders, as shown in Fig. 5, five of the extensions 11 and 12 are made to go in between ends 13 and 14k and are pressed through the layer of powder, thus dividing the layer proportionately into four powders 17. I have shown the dividing extensions 11 the full width of the strips of the elements 5, and the extensions 12 as reduced in width, thus providing for variously spaced mold strips. If it is found convenient to use a less number of the elements 5 some may be easily slipped off, and they may be added again when desired. It will be understood that this appliance can be manipulated rapidly, that close observation is not needed, and that calculation is not required in making the requisite number of proportioned divisions of a quantity of powder.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a proportional powder divider, a plurality of elements forming a lazy tongs, each element provided with a transverse male hinge member on one end and a transverse female hinge member adjacent the other end, and a transverse slot intermediate the hinge members, all so arranged that the members may be slipped apart and slipped together.

2. In a proportional powder divider, the combination of a lazy-tongs having dividing-blades extending beyond its pivots, intel-locking parallel mold-pieces adjustable relative to each other for adjusting the length of the mold formed thereby and so separated that said dividing-blades just fit between them and they form a wall for the ends of said dividing-blades, and a palette to form abottom for the channel formed by said mold-pieces and limit the downward motion of said dividing-blades as they pass through the powder operated on.

3. A proportional powder divider consisting of flat strips of metal hinged together and forming lazy-tongs, the strips of metal. being arranged in planes transverse to the plane of the body of the lazy-tongs and each strip being provided with a hinge member at one of its extremities and a hinge member between its extremities, one or" the extremities being a dividing-blade.

VILLIAM VOTTELER.

itnesses M. C. ROLLWAGE, D. B. ll innxxron. 

